Ryan touts GOP budget

The author of a Republican budget plan said today it addresses the national debt crisis that President Obama and Democrats are ignoring.

"The president is hunkered down in campaign mode, and seems intent on dividing Americans for political gain instead of offering credible solutions to our most pressing fiscal and economic challenges," said Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., in the weekly Republican radio address.

Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said the GOP budget will reform the tax code and protect such programs as education and Medicare.

Obama and Democratic leaders, meanwhile, want to raise taxes on "hard-working Americans in an effort to lock in ever-higher government spending," Ryan said.

The Democrats have made the Ryan budget a major election this year, saying it reduces taxes for the rich while cutting programs for the middle class.

Obama called it "thinly veiled social Darwinism."

The GOP radio address:

Hello, my name is Paul Ryan and I represent the first district of Wisconsin.

As I go around Southern Wisconsin and visit with Americans across the country about the debt and the economy, people often ask: is it too late to save America from a diminished future?

It's a difficult question, it's one that makes me worry about my children's future, and I know you're worried too.

But the honest answer is this: it's not too late to save the American Dream.

You see, we are closer than you think to solutions that will help create jobs and put us back on a path to prosperity.

Regrettably, this president has failed to lead us, to unite us, and to help us address our defining challenges.

Last week, leaders in the United States Senate, which is controlled by the president's own party, announced they would not advance a budget for the third year in a row. Tomorrow, in fact, will mark three years to the day since the Senate last fulfilled this basic governing responsibility.

This unserious approach to budgeting has dire consequences for American families. The president and his party leaders are now insisting that Washington take trillions of dollars from hardworking Americans in an effort to lock in ever-higher government spending.

If we've learned anything over the last three years, it's that this approach won't work.

The good news is, there's a better way forward: a budget, recently passed by the House of Representatives, that would lift the debt and free the nation from the constraints of ever-expanding government.

If enacted, this budget would promote economic growth and opportunity starting today, with bold reforms to the tax code and a credible, principled plan to prevent a debt crisis from ever happening.

It would support safe, responsible energy exploration here at home to address high gas prices and it would repeal the president's health care law, which is making it harder for businesses to hire new workers.

Repealing the president's health care law would also protect America's seniors. The law raids over $500 billion from Medicare and empowers a board of 15 unelected bureaucrats to cut Medicare in ways that would deny seniors access to the care they need.

Our budget saves and strengthens Medicare by proposing to put 50 million seniors, not 15 unaccountable bureaucrats, in charge of their personal health care decisions.

This budget would also ensure the federal government can make good on its commitment to younger Americans -- a stark contrast to the dismal economy and empty promises offered by the president's policies.

Our budget expands opportunity for the next generation, saves them from a debt-burdened future, and ensures that the important education programs they rely on are made stronger and more sustainable.

The president is hunkered down in campaign mode, and seems intent on dividing Americans for political gain instead of offering credible solutions to our most pressing fiscal and economic challenges. And his party leaders in the Senate? They're about to go another year without a budget.

By contrast, the Republican-led House has passed a pro-growth budget and nearly 30 jobs bills that are waiting for action in the Senate. This week, we passed four more bills relating to stopping cyberterrorism -- which hurts our economy and costs jobs. And we're working to advance the Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring 20,000 jobs to the United States.

We will get back on a path to prosperity -- it is not too late to get this right. But only with the right leadership in place can we renew the American promise of leaving our children a stronger nation than the one our parents left us.

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About David Jackson

David's journalism career spans three decades, including coverage of five presidential elections, the Oklahoma City bombing, the 2000 Florida presidential recount and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the White House for USA TODAY since 2005. His interests include history, politics, books, movies and college football -- not necessarily in that order. More about David